Now that Manny Machado has been traded, the focus of the MLB trade season is going to be on the struggling New York Mets leading up to the non-waiver deadline a week from Tuesday.
New York already moved All-Star closer Jeurys Familia to the Oakland Athletics earlier this weekend. It’s also said to be willing to trade infielder Asdrubal Cabrera with a plethora of team’s interest in his services.
The two big names that have received a ton of interest from contending teams, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, are unlikely to be dealt. This doesn’t mean the Mets aren’t listening to offers for the two ace pitchers.
Mets are engaging teams on their aces (in case) but since they seek major league talent back for deGrom or Syndergaard, they see wintertime as a better opportunity to deal an ace. Contenders loathe to subtract from teams in a pennant race.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 22, 2018
This situation becomes a bit more clouded now that Syndergaard has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a freak disease (more on that here).
While Syndergaard is expected to make his next start on July 31, any trade involving the veteran likely wouldn’t occur until the day of the deadline.
The former All-Star is pitching to a 6-1 record with a 2.89 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 83 strikeouts in 74.2 innings thus far this season. He’s under team control through the 2021 season, meaning that New York shouldn’t be in a rush to move the starter.
At this point, deGrom would likely net more in a trade. The 30-year-old is under team control through the 2020 season and is putting up Cy Young-caliber numbers this year. Despite posting a 5-4 record, he boasts an NL-best 1.89 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 19 starts.
As Heyman noted, it’s increasingly likely that both aces will be moved this winter. That makes sense given that the Mets are looking to add Major League-level talent. Contending teams are not in a hurry to make moves of this ilk during the season.
A more likelier scenario here is that fellow starter Zack Wheeler is moved. Though, he wouldn’t bring back the return of either Syndergaard or deGrom. That’s for sure.